Jewel of my Eye

Chapter One: The Boardwalk

"How do you like your room, Keyna?" a soft voice questioned, causing me to turn as I saw Mrs. Emerson standing in the doorway.  Smiling slightly, I nodded, ignoring the curious eyes behind her.  She returned the gesture before walking down the hall, leaving me to inspect the room some more.  Padding sounded and my eyes traveled to the floor to be met by a panting huskie.

"Hey, boy," I reached down, ruffling his ears.  "You're gorgeous."

"Keyna," Lucy called up the stairs and I went to the top.  "Why don't you go with Sammy to the boardwalk; he can introduce you to his friends?"

"Mom," the blonde boy whined, causing me to blink.  He was supposed to be my age.  He was acting like a four year old.  Glaring up at me, he slammed the door behind him but stood on the porch, waiting for me. 

I guess Lucy had decided I was going.  Jogging down the stairs, I walked past Sam and down the path.  Falling into step with me, I felt my eyes tugged to the side.  The view was really quite beautiful. 

"C'mon." 

Rolling my eyes, I caught up to him, following him through the sea of people.  We were heading towards a comic store.  Squinting slightly, I saw the orange of the sun setting before tripping into the store.

"Hey, watch it," someone rasped, causing me to whip around.  Standing there was a boy, somewhere around my age.  He had a dirty green bandana tied in his hair that matched his camouflage pants; he seemed to be observing me as well.  "Nice necklace."

"Thanks," I murmured, fingering the wooden rose.  He smirked lightly before turning to another boy, who seemed to be dressed the same way.

"Keyna, these are the Frog brothers: Edgar and Alan," Sam started, but his eyes were more on the one who had spoken to me; he was still smirking.  "Guys, this's Keyna, my mom took her in."

"Nyeh," I muttered, scooting away from another display. 

I had a feeling I'd knock one over sooner or later.

"Hey," the one I guessed to be Edgar started but shook his head, glancing at Sam before walking behind the counter.  Raising an eyebrow slightly, I saw Alan shake his head and decided more was going on than I knew about, but I'd find out. 

Probably. 

Glancing outside, I felt the corner of my mouth tug upward as I jogged out to the railing by the sea.  The sun was setting; it was my favourite time of day.  All the colors in the dull sky swirled.  The purple, golden rays mixed creating an endless beauty that I could only watch.  With the wind blowing against my face, I couldn't help thinking that Santa Carla might not be so bad after all.

"Keyna," I turned to see Alan standing a couple feet back, Edgar and Sam behind him.  "We figured we'd give you the lay of the land."  Sam really didn't look to happy about it, but he suddenly glanced over at Edgar, who was actually watching me.  What was he looking at anyway?  Shrugging, I glanced back at the now dark sky before following them down the road.

"So how long have you been here," Edgar asked, his tone still raspy but somehow soft.  Looking over at him, I saw Sam scowling at the floor but Edgar was smirking. 

Was he, he was, ew . . .

"A day," I murmured, thinking about my new realization.  He was using me in some way.  And it had something to do with Sam.  Either, Edgar liked playing with Sam or Edgar was a jerk. 

Or both. 

I had just met the kid and I think I figured out his inner workings.  He was like a book.  Of course, I read people as a hobby, so it was quite easy.  There was always the chance I was wrong, but it was fun just guessing.